Independent front wheel suspension



May 3, 1949. G. D. ROWLAND ET AL INDEPENDENT FRONT WHEEL SUSPENSION 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 10, 1946 GEORGE D. ROWLAND HAROLD J. MORRIS INVENTORS f'A W ,VAIIORNEYS y 3, 1949- G. D. ROWLAND ET A 2,469,244

INDE PENDENT FRONT WHEEL SUSPENSION Filed June 10, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 GEORGE D. ROWLAND HAROLD J. MORRIS INVENTORS 6? C m f n BY K4? ATTORNEYS.

Patented May 3, 1949 INDEPENDENT FR'ONT SUSPENSION George 'D.. Rowland}. Deanbnrm. and. Harold J;

Morris,', Wayne;,Mi'ch., assignorssto FordlMotor Gompanyg Deal-hum, Mich.,. ascorporation of Delaware Applibation lime-'10, 19%;senarNm-e7a513 4=-Glaimse 1:

-'Illiis invention relates: generallyto *wheelrsuspensions and more particularly to independent wheeli suspensions for: motor vehicles.

One:ofither'objectsr of the-present. invention: is to provideaan: independent wheel suspension for 'a'rmotor veliiclea'im which: improved ride char-ac;- teristics: are-:obtd-inedi together with. increased stabiiitwduringzoperatiom Anotheirobjeettof:th'esinventionz isito provide an independent-wheel; suspension: in which a lar ge numher'iof conventionally used 1 parts are elimilnated, such': as. axles, leaf. or. coil springs; radius rodsgswayrbarswstabilizers'r-and; the'.'like,': and *are "replaced:byvaasimplifled'i construction which is :both; "economical to manufacture and easy to mantainzin proper: workingicon'ditiom 'Alfurther'objeot is to provl'deia: wheel. suspension: in'."whicl'r the various. stresses I are so distributed" thatt'a. minimum. stress is placed upon any one part. 'I'his is-accomplish'ed byiproviding='thrustr-anns'-whichz carry the'majority of the thrust loads in longitudinalf and transverse directions only, and a plurality"of'springs;= such "was: torsion. bars, :betweenr which the suspension :load" art-weight of the vehicle? is: distributed;

-Stil1."another'-object is to: provide an independentz suspension. iadapted for use? both with v front andirearr wheelsi of a-motor= vehicle; and which: is: particulanly: advantageous when used with front:' wheels si'nce'; it 1 enables the camber;

v caster anditoe inof tlierf'rontwheelsto' be main- =-tained constant t duringrdeflection: of thesprings.

.Iiit; addition,- the: suspension is adapted? for use "with a: steering geometry which will 'n'ot be effected: by permanent orfoperational deflection of? the: fronttsuspensiom or "by unequal "deflection a.hetweenttheztwmfront wh'eels;

Qther'objects and; advantages of the inven- -:tion willibeimade"more-apparent as thisdescription" proceeds; particularly: when consid'ere'd in connection withith'ea-accompanying' drawings; in "which:

figure-'1; is..=a-plan view 1 or the front portion of -'a.nt-. automobile chassis: provided with the wheel rsuspensionwoi;thepresent inventionz Figure 2 is a front elevation'=ofthe construction'shown imFigureill' Figure-'3'- is' aside elevation thereof, with one front wheel 1 omitted-J and the" wheel carrier? in "section;

Figure 4' is an enlarged-fragmentary *cross's'e'c- "tion takensuhstantially'on the plane indicated 'by-the'=-l1ne4--4 of figured? 4 Figure 5*is= a side-elevation similar toFigure "3 'butlllustrating a modificationr Referring now more-particularly toithefdrawmes,- there is shown a vehicle framehavingi side frame members H andiaitransversefront cross frame member I2. Steer-able front wheels 43 and M are arranged-"on-oppositesides of: the frame; Shortaxles 16' are bolted to the-underside of: the" front cross frame. member l2 and the side frame members H adjacent opposite sides of the frame. The forwardly extending furcations l8 of bifurcatedthrust arms 1 9' are pivotally mounted upon theaxles l 6.

Eacharm l9 eXtendsrearwardlyfrom th rvaxle I 6""an'd carrie's atits rearward end a sleeve 121,

which is-either integrally formed therewith or separately formed and suitably secured? thereto.

The axes of the sleeves Itextend transversely of the'vehicle, andfrotatably support 'stub axles 22 which extend: inwardly from: the Wheel carriers-235 The wheel carriers are provided with knuckles -24 upon which the front wheels l3 and Mrareconventionally mounted for pivotal movement-to-steer the vehicle, The wheel carriers 23 are also formed with upwardly anddownwardlyextendin-g arms 26 and. 27' respectively.

@From theforegoing itwill-be apparent thatth'e teach thrust arm to assist inresisting transverse thrust loads upon the wheels. Inasmuch as the wheels are constrained to move through predetermined planes, there canbe no change in the camber or toe-in of the wheels. during. vertical movement relative to the frame. In addition,

"the tread likewise remains constant.

A bracket 28"is welded or bolted'to the outboa'rdside or. each of'the side frame'members ll adjacentthe'ends oft-the frontlcross frame memher: 12. Each of these brackets carriers an outwardly'extending upper bracket 29 and an outwardlyexten'ding lower brackets I; each of which 'supportsabearing'block'32;

"A""pair of torsion bars '33 and extend trans- "vers ely across the vehicle'between' theupper "bean 'ing blocks "32, and'e; second pair 'oftorsion cars 35 and 36 likewiseextendtransversely of the 'vehiciebetweenthe lower bearingblocks. Each 'dfthe torsion "bars "has "oneend anchored? to one o'f'fithe bearinablocks and its .opposite and join-- naled in a bearing block at the opposite side of the frame. For example, torsion bars 33 and 35 are anchored in the upper and lower bearing blocks respectively at the left side of the frame as seen in Figures 1 and 2, the anchoring means comprising a key 38 as shown, or other suitable anchoring means such as splines or the like. The opposite ends of the torsion bars 33 and 35 are journaled in the bearing blocks at the right side of the frame as seen in Figures 1 and 2, and are formed with splines 39 adjacent the journaled ends. Upper and lower suspension arms 4! and 42 are mounted at their forward ends upon the splines 39 formed on the torsion bars 33 and 35 respectively, and extend rearwardly and substantially in parallel relationship with each other and with the thrust arm l9. At their rearward ends the suspension arms 4| and 42 are pivotally mounted to the ends of the upper and lower arms 23 and 27 respectively of the wheel carrier 23.

Additional stability is afforded the construction by means of a brace 43 extending between the pivotal connections at the rearward ends of the upper arms 4| and the inboard ends of the stub axles 22 of the wheel carriers. Resilient bumpers 44 of conventional design are mounted upon the "side frame members I l to limit the swinging movement of the suspension linkage by engagement with the thrust arms l9.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the torsion bars 33 and 35 and the suspension arms 4! and 42 function to resiliently suspend the wheel carrier 23 and the front wheel Hi from the frame of the vehicle. Inasmuch as the major portion of the longitudinal and transverse thrust loads are taken by the thrust arm 19, the suspension arms 4| and 42 need onlycarry the vertical load, and since the vertical suspension load is divided between the arms 4! and 42 and the torsion bars 33 and 35 it will be apparent that the stress is distributed between a number of parts so that the total stress upon any one part is minimized. A resulting improved safety factor and more economical construction results.

Furthermore, since the suspension arms 4! and 42 and the thrust arm l9 form a multiple parallelogram linkage system, the caster angle of the wheel remains unchanged during deflection of the latter.

The construction and arrangement of the torsion bars 34 and 36 and their corresponding suspension arms is similar to that described above, except that the torsion bars are reversed. Adjacent ends of the torsion bars 34 and 3% are anchored in the upper and lower bearing blocks 32 at one side of the frame while the opposite ends of the bars are journaled in the bearing blocks at the other side of the frame. Adjacent the journaled ends of the torsion bars 34 and 36, upper and lower suspension arms 46 and 47 are mounted upon the bars by means of splines, and extend rearwardly, being pivotally connected at their rearward ends to the wheel carrier 23 for the front wheel l4. Although the torsion bars for the suspensions for the front wheels l3 and I4 are thus mounted upon the same bearing blocks, it will be seen that they operate independently so that each front wheel is suspended independently of the other front wheel. The plurality of torsion bars combine to provide improved ride able since it provides a steering geometry which is not effected either by permanent sag of the front suspension, deflection of the front wheels during operation, or unequal deflection between the two front wheels. This is accomplished by arranging the tie rods 43 of the steering linkage so that their forward ends are substantially in vertical alignment with the transversely extending torsion bars. The tie rods 48 are universally connected at their rear ends to conventional knuckle arms 49 to steer the wheels, and at their forward ends to links 5!. The links 5| are joined to each other and to a drag link arm 52, and the assembly is pivotally mounted upon the frame at a point 53 on the longitudinal centerline of the vehicle. The drag link arm 52 is connected by a shown). It will be noted that the steering linkageis symmetrical with respect to the longitudinal centerline of the vehicle, and that the pivotal connections between the links 5| and the tie rods 48 are substantially in alignment with'the torsion bars so that balanced steering is effected.

Reference is now made to Figure 5 which illustrates a modification of the invention which is generally the same as the construction shown in Figures 1 to 4 inclusive except that the lower suspension arms 42 and 41, together with their torsion bars 35 and 36, are omitted. With this arrangement the upper suspension arms M and 45 cooperate with the thrust arms l3 and the wheel carrier 23 to form a parallelogram type of linkage. This arrangement has the advantage of more economical cost of manufacture and simplicity of design but requires somewhat heavier torsion bars since the deflection load upon each wheel is taken by the single torsion bar.

It will be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the exact construction shown and described, but that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

. 1. In a wheel suspension for a vehicle having a frame and a road Wheel, a relatively heavy thrust arm of generally wishbone shape having its forward end bifurcated and pivotally mounted directly upon said frame at relatively widely spaced points for pivotal movement about a generally transversely extending axis, a wheel carrier pivotally connected to the rearward end of said thrust arm and supporting said road wheel, a pair of vertically spaced transversely extending torsion bars each anchored to said frame at the side of the latter remote from said road wheel, one of said torsion bars being above said thrust arm and the other of said torsion bars being below said thrust arm, and a pair of generally parallel longitudinally extending suspension arms each,

connected at its forward end to one of said torsion bars and pivotally connected at its rearward end to said wheel carrier so that said'torsion bars and suspension arms resiliently suspend said having a frame provided with a front cross member and a pair of steerable road wheels on opposite sides of said frame, in combination, short transversely extending axles rigidly supported .adjacent the lower side of said cross member,

thrust arms pivotally connected to said axles and .extending rearwardly-therefro m, sleeves formed at'the rearward ends of said thrust arms-wheel carriers supporting said road wheels and having portions rotatably mounted in said sleeves, brackets carried by said frame adjacent opposite ends of said cross member, two pairs of transversely extending torsion bars extending between said brackets with one pair being above said cross member and the other pair being below said cross member, one end of one of the torsion bars of each pair being anchored to the bracket at one side of said frame and one end of the other torsion bar of each pair being anchored to the bracket at the opposite side of said frame, a suspension arm connected to the unanchored end of each of said torsion bars, said suspension arms extending rearwardly from said torsion bars and pivotally connected at their rearward ends to said wheel carriers at points above and below the pivotal connections between said thrust arms and said wheel carriers.

3. In a Wheel suspension for a vehicle having ing a frame and a road wheel, a wheel carrier supporting said Wheel, a pair of vertically spaced parallel arms extending longitudinally of said vehicle and pivotally connected at their rear ends to said wheel carrier, the forward end of said suspension arms being mounted upon said frame for pivotal movement about transversely extending axes, spring means associated with said suspension arms for resiliently suspending said road wheel, and a heavy rigid one-piece thrust arm intermediate said upper and lower suspension arms, said thrust arm being pivotally connected at its forward end directly to said frame at widely spaced transversely aligned points and at its rearward end being pivoted directly to said wheel carrier about a transverse axis substantially in alignment with the point of connection of said wheel carrier to said road Wheel.

4. In a wheel suspension for a vehicle having a frame and a road wheel, a thrust arm of generally wishbone shape mounted upon said frame for pivotal movement about a generally transversely extending axis, a Wheel carrier pivotally connected to the rearward end of said thrust arm and supporting said road wheel, a pair of vertically spaced transversely extending torsion bars each anchored to said frame at the side of the latter remote from said road wheel, one of said torsion bars above said thrust arm and the other of said torsion bars bein below said thrust arm, a pair of generally parallel longitudinally extending suspension arms each connected at its forward end to one of said torsion bars and pivotally connected at its rearward end to said wheel car rier so that said torsion bars and suspension arms resiliently suspend said road Wheel and said thrust arm takes the longitudinal and transverse thrust of said road wheel, said thrust arm carrying a transversely extending sleeve at its rearward end and said wheel carrier having an axial portion rotatably supported in said sleeve, and a brace interconnecting the inner end of said axle and the rearward ends of said suspension arms.

GEORGE D. ROWLAND. HAROLD J. MORRIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,033,493 Straussler Mar. 10, 1936 2,045,210 Wagner June 23, 1936 2,090,141 Newton Aug. 17, 1937 2,164,470 Opolo July 4, 1939 2,166,774 Tjaarda July 18, 1939 2,371,864 Woolson Mar. 20, 1945 

